Teeth In The Sandbox
by YaoiMeowmaster
Summary: Zane and Syrus were simply minding their own business playing around in the park sandbox when a certain dinosaur enthusiast decides to harass them. Hassleberry? More like Hasslebully.


The sun hung above the earth in the clear sky as though it were a mounted painting. It was the kind of day where even the kids addicted to their portable games looked out the window and felt a longing to scream and run wild in the park, making real the adventures they had played out on pixelated screens. Running about with other children whom they had met that very day, no judgment passed upon them for their looks or mannerisms, but simply a sense of regard and thankfulness that the other was willing to play.

Even the shyer ones, alone in the sandbox, were peaceful and happy in each other's company, feeling no tension or necessity to speak. A bond between brothers that seemed as though they sent calming telepathic waves to each other when viewed upon by an outsider. The smaller one seemed most content doing nothing but picking up a clump of sand with his plastic trowel and watching it fall out grain by grain with a look of wonder. His elder brother, more focused, was busy at work molding a work of utmost architectural beauty. He carefully chiseled out windows of his make shift castle with a stick, placing leaves upon the towers for decoration. At last, he stood up with a sigh, wiping the thin layer of sweat beneath the bangs of his deep blue hair. "It's done." he said, admiring the toils of his work. The smaller boy beside him looked in joy, grinning with an oddly deviant look in his eyes.

"Can I do it now, Zane?" he asked, adjusting tiny spectacles before lifting himself to his feet. Zane nodded with a smile, amused by the eagerness of his little brother, whose hair of a lighter blue fluttered lightly in the soft breeze. Moving back a little to give the boy room, Zane patted the child's head gently.

"Go get it Syrus." he said with giggle. Syrus gave an odd sort of cackle, rubbing his hands together before turning to the castle.

"Marufuji Manor is under attack!" said Zane, bobbing a little rock in his hand up and down as he spoke. "Prepare the traps!"

"Guhwaaa!" scowled Syrus, stamping his feet in the sandbox as a sumo warrior does before a fight. "Mawafuji Mano is going DOWN!" he declared, snarling as he stomped steadily towards the structure.

"Eeek! Save me! Please save me!" cried Zane in a squeaky voice, dropping a pigeon feather down from the top of the castle.

"Gwaa!" exclaimed Syrus, running forward and punching a tower down with a roar. Laughing deeply, he gave a swift kick right through the middle of it, sending the rest of the foundation crashing down all in one motion. His body shift forward and one leg crossed over another. Syrus's smile disappeared in an instant as he felt himself falling forward, unable to regain his balance.

The sick sound of something cracking processed in Zane's mind before the sight of Syrus falling did. He winced in horror, stepping back as though ready to run away. Zane was frozen in place, trying to decide whether he should flee or stay. He was jolted back to his senses upon hearing Syrus's scream of pain. Dashing forward, Zane knelt beside his little brother, tilting his head to try to see the damage.

If Syrus had fallen on the sand, it might not have been so bad, but somehow he had managed to fall face first upon the metal edge of the box, his open mouth smacking against the side. Zane shuddered in utter revulsion. He could see blood pooling out Syrus's mouth, who was crying not because he was hurt, but because he was terrified of what was happening. "Syrus I..." whimpered Zane weakly, trying to lift him up.

Syrus tried to open his mouth to speak, only to have a good gallon of blood mixed with saliva, snot and tears fall upon his shirt. He felt filthy, wet and the pain was finally getting to him. The poor child's eyes were screwed shut and that was when Zane realized that the glasses were missing. He didn't even have to look back at the shattered frames on the grass, Zane knew that after a tumble like that, those kind of things were history. "Come on..." he said softly, rubbing Syrus's nose with his sleeve and leading him away to their mother.

What had begun as a beautiful day was quickly degrading into a dreary afternoon. Even the sky itself began to slowly grow a dull gray, clouds appearing seemingly out of nowhere to cover the bright rays. A young mother grew wary as she reached the gates, squinting up in irritation. "Oh Tyranno." she sighed. "I think we're going to have to go back home."

The boy she held in her arms looked horrified at the very thought, pulling on the small black dreadlocks that poked out from under his hat in distress. "Noooo!" whined Tyranno, flailing his leg in protest. "Please Plllleaaase, just for a little bit..." he begged, staring at his mother with wide eyes." The woman gave a weary sigh and seemed to ponder it for a moment, looking up cautiously.

"All right." she said, relinquishing to her son's requests. "Maybe it'll get better, but if anymore clouds come we'll have to go home, okay?" she offered, walking into the park.

"Clouds!" declared Tyranno pointing up into the darkening sky. "You're out of line, soldiers! As your Commander, I order you to go away!" Despite hearing the heart wrenching sound of a boy sobbing in the background, the mother smiled, setting her precious dear down into the sandbox.

"I think you mean 'At Ease'." she said with a giggle, saluting her son before walking over to a nearby bench to keep watch.

Saluting his Commander back, Tyranno sank his knees into the sand and started to dig. "The great Archieallagist Hassleberry, on his latest quest to discover the remains of the beast from long ago." he said to himself, describing his little tale as he foraged. "He grabs his trusty shovel..." he said, noticing one that seemed to have been left behind. "And digs deep into the earth."

Filling the shovel with sand, Hassleberry carefully blew away at the sand, observing the sediments to see if anything mysterious had been left behind. "Aha!" he said, picking a feather out. "The great Archieallagist has found a single feather. He deduces that it's from an ancient bird that fed on...on pebbles from long ago!" he said, setting aside the feather carefully before digging again.

This process went on for a bit, with the young "archeologist" sifting through sand and finding a leaf, a twig and even a small bottle cap. As he played, the sun came back out from behind the clouds, as if it was awakening from a small nap. Feeling the warmth of the sun upon him at last, Tyranno smiled, digging his shovel into the sand a final time. The swings over by the other corner of the park seemed to be calling his name. Shaking the sand out of the shovel, Tyranno noticed something glimmer at him. Something small and white.

Lifting the shovel close to his face, Tyranno stared for a moment, awestruck as he picked up the tiny thing. It seemed to be just smaller than a kernel of corn. Turning it over, Tyranno reveled at how smooth its surface was, save for a small crack on the back. Not only was it smooth, but it was sharp as well, with a gentle curve that ended in a rounded point. Tyranno knew what he held in his hand immediately. It was a tooth, and not just any tooth. It was the fang of a T. Rex, one of the greatest dinosaurs to have ever existed. It probably wasn't from a full grown one, the tooth was far too small, but it was likely left behind by a baby who had shed it.

It was a fabulous find. Tucking it into the front pocket of his overalls, Tyranno pulled off his hat and gave a sigh of relief, wiping the sweat off his forehead. He was going to swing extra high today just for that.

Out of the corner of his eye, Tyranno spotted a whimpering little boy walking towards the sandbox, being escorted by another, slightly taller boy. Tyranno blinked and tied his hat back on, putting his hands on his hips in bemusement. "Hey!" he called out. "Whatchu crying for? Boys don't cry!" exclaimed Tyranno, shaming the other.

Looking up, Syrus squinted wearily to see who it was that was taunting him. He felt Zane squeeze his hand in comfort and growl. "I'll make you cry if you don't leave my brother alone." he said coldly, pushing past the rude kid and leaning down in the sand. "I think you fell here..." said Zane in deep thought, digging a little.

"Whatchu lookin for?" asked Tyranno, none too affected by Zane's threat. He squatted down in interest and watched Zane dig, wondering if the other would find anything Tyranno had missed the first time.

"My toof." said Syrus to the tree. Tilting his head, Tyranno felt some suspicions come to mind. A boy crying and then talking in the opposite direction? Maybe he was actually a dinosaur in disguise! Judging by Syrus's hair, Tyranno made the most logical conclusion that came to mind.

"Are you a triceratops?" he asked.

Turning around, Syrus groped the air, touching Tyranno's hip and frowning. He looked up, squinting again to focus on the boy's face. "Wow…You're weewee dumb." said Syrus, genuinely shocked that someone could be so stupid. Tyranno growled, finally triggered by this insult.

"Shut up! Don't get mad at me because I know your secret!" He said, scowling before pinching Syrus's cheeks and pulling. "I can get this mask off and let everyone know what you really are!" said Tyranno, tugging up.

"OOOOW!" screeched Syrus, pushing against Tyranno and trying to get away. Why in the world was this kid doing what his Aunts did to him all the time, and why was he doing it so hard? What kind of secret was he hiding? The total confusion that overwhelmed Syrus prompted him to start sobbing again.

"What the?" exclaimed Zane, whipping around to see the brat throttling his brother. A wave of anger surged through his veins. He shrieked in anger, grabbing a handful of sand and hurling it at him. "What's wrong with you!? Get off of him!" roared Zane, running forward to try to pull Tyranno off of his brother.

The sand flew harmlessly against Tyranno's back, so it came as a complete surprise when he found an arm wrapping around his neck. The dreaded sleeper hold! Oh if only he knew how to do the moves he had seen on the wrestling programs he watched. So, the dinosaur lover simply did what came to mind next, sinking his teeth into the arm and bracing himself for the scream of anger that came next.

Driven to near insanity by all that was going on, Syrus flailed his fists blindly as he cried, feeling it sink into a place slightly wet and hitting a bunch of little hard things. Tyranno crumpled to the ground in an instant, and the battle was over. Syrus panted softly touching his tender face and sighing in relief. Zane held his arm and fumed, nostrils flaring as he glared at Tyranno's body.

Coughing, Tyranno lifted his face from the sand, rubbing the grains out from his eyes without a single tear. The punch was more shocking than the pain, Tyranno was simply recovering from the attack. Looking down at the sand, he grinned wildly, picking up the small tooth that was there. "Hey!" he cried, jumping to his feet and holding it out to the small dinosaur in disguise. "I found your toof!" said Tyranno, an obnoxious gap showing off in his otherwise toothy smile.

"That's not-"

"Thank you!" gasped Syrus in a squeal, talking over his brother. His mood flipped completely, and Syrus was so overcome with joy, he began jumping in place. Zane's eyes widened and he stared at Tyranno for a moment, one arm wrapped over the shoulder of his brother in a protective gesture. Tyranno giggled back, shrugging.

"I guess he's not a dinasaur after all, this toof's too flat." Admitted Tyranno, rubbing the back of his neck with a sheepish smile as he examined the tooth. "But I still think the toof fairy's gonna pay a lot for this one."

Zane nodded wordlessly, a smile spreading on his face as he let Tyranno drop the tooth in his hand. "Thank you very much." He said with a nod, keeping his previous thoughts to himself as he slipped the tooth into his pocket.

"I'm not a dinosaw, but I think I'm a turkey…" said Syrus thoughtfully, tugging on Tyranno's jacket. Tyranno laughed, bending his fingers as though they were claws.

"Birds are dinosaurs too, but I eat birds! Come here!" he squealed, lunging forward. Syrus screamed, but Zane was at ease. It was no scream of terror or sadness, but a scream of utter bliss. Crossing his arms, he smiled as the two little ones chased each other all around the sandbox, childishly taunting each other in their little game.

Leaping across the sandbox in a bold detour, Syrus bumped against Zane, who wobbled precariously in shock. And when Tyranno threw him aside in his pursuit, Zane sighed. He let himself fall, silently cursing the circle of life.


End file.
